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Suspected Russians claim they visited Britain as tourists

The two suspects in the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter told in an exclusive interview that they went to Salisbury to do some sightseeing after a friend urged them to visit the city.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov told RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan that they were in Salisbury as tourists, reports the Frans press. The UK government has blamed Russia for the Skripals poisoning, with Prime Minister Theresa May claiming that Petrov and Boshirov are members of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service.

The interview was published after Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday said that the two were civilians, not criminals.

Speaking at the economic forum, Putin invited two men to present themselves in media and tell their story.